about Dimebag Darell

First things first I'm aware that I am committing full on heavy metal blasphemy by saying this. I think Dimebag is overrated when it comes to his riffs why? Because a majority of his riffs are ripped off from other bands. Ye you may argue that is normal for a metal band to do that but he did that too many times.

Here are some of the songs he ripped off

The main riff from A New Level was ripped off from Overkill's Under the Influence

The whole song of domination was a total rip off from Toxik's Pain and Misery

The acoustic bit in Hollow was ripped off from one of the songs off Rush's Caress of Steel.

Despite all of that his guitar solos were amazing and he personally was a top bloke didn't have that bullshit ego rockstar personality and when he got shot it was a tragic loss and may his soul rest in peace.

I don't agree with any of that except for Dimebag being overrated.

well alot of Panteras music from Power Metal on was written by Anselmo as much as Darrell. so he can't even get full credit for that stuff. he was a talented player, but overall nothing extraordinary in the metal world.

for some reason, after his death, people wanted to put him up on a pedestal like some sort of metal idol. it just wasn't so.

mc666 wrote:

for some reason, after his death, people wanted to put him up on a pedestal like some sort of metal idol. it just wasn't so.

This is where everyone goes wrong. This dude was a legend before he died. And anyone saying he was an overrated musician knows nothing about being a musician. The dude was a phenomenal guitarist! To be great, you don't have to technically be amazing! Dimebag actually was that, but people just don't get it sometimes. They always bring up the song "Walk," when trying to justify why they think Dimebag is overrated. Yes, the main riff in "Walk" is two notes and a bend. A retard could play it. But that's not the point at all. The point is that it is hands down one of the most recognizable and killer metal riffs ever recorded. Plain and simple. That is the sign of a great musician.

It's not about the ability of the musician; it's about the ability to craft something great. And regardless of what anyone says about Dimebag, he was a legend before his death, and he was an amazing musician. Just because everyone heard of him once he died doesn't change those two things.

And those songs are in no way ripped off. You're clearly stretching, trying to find things to bolster your opinion that he and Pantera were overrated. If you want to make vague musical comparisons, we can say Toxik ripped of Metallica's "Whiplash" with "Pain And Misery."

Eyesore wrote:

Yes, the main riff in "Walk" is two notes and a bend. A retard could play it. But that's not the point at all. The point is that it is hands down one of the most recognizable and killer metal riffs ever recorded. Plain and simple. That is the sign of a great musician.

And regardless of what anyone says about Dimebag, he was a legend before his death...

I will agree that people idolized him (and Pantera in general) quite a bit while he was alive. I remember that. But your first illustration above kinda touches on my indifference toward and even dislike of Pantera's music.

I think your average listener just wants something to cheer about, and Pantera delivered that. Something easy to remember that makes your body move. Basically, people want pop music...and Pantera obliged, which is why they were so popular.

There is something to be said for writing songs that become so popular. I will give them that. I also won't say that Darrel Whatever was a bad player. But I think overzealous fans give the impression that they think he was some technically amazing and better than X player, when maybe he was just more of a good pop metal riff writer with good tone.

ack

overrated is not a good term here. i would say over hyped. everyone knew he was a gifted guitarist, but you didn't hear him cheered as a "legend" until he was murdered. probably because of the way he was murdered. sadly, as popular as Pantera was as a whole, his death made him a sensation moreso than his music ever did. indeed, that is where it's wrong.

Eyesore wrote:

mc666 wrote:

for some reason, after his death, people wanted to put him up on a pedestal like some sort of metal idol. it just wasn't so.

This is where everyone goes wrong. This dude was a legend before he died. And anyone saying he was an overrated musician knows nothing about being a musician. The dude was a phenomenal guitarist! To be great, you don't have to technically be amazing! Dimebag actually was that, but people just don't get it sometimes. They always bring up the song "Walk," when trying to justify why they think Dimebag is overrated. Yes, the main riff in "Walk" is two notes and a bend. A retard could play it. But that's not the point at all. The point is that it is hands down one of the most recognizable and killer metal riffs ever recorded. Plain and simple. That is the sign of a great musician.

It's not about the ability of the musician; it's about the ability to craft something great. And regardless of what anyone says about Dimebag, he was a legend before his death, and he was an amazing musician. Just because everyone heard of him once he died doesn't change those two things.

And those songs are in no way ripped off. You're clearly stretching, trying to find things to bolster your opinion that he and Pantera were overrated. If you want to make vague musical comparisons, we can say Toxik ripped of Metallica's "Whiplash" with "Pain And Misery."

man i agree there man Dime is a total legend.i have a dimebag dean guitar (and yes i can play that two notes and a bend that is walk - badly i might add i cant play for smurf poo) an i av a dimebag poster and a dime bag poster. the guy is such a legend and showcased to the world what heavy metal really was instead of what people thought it was

Darrell Abbot was a good guitar player. I liked his work mainly on the old stuff before Cowboys From Hell....there is no denying he was a gifted guitar player but I do agree with mc666 that "over hyped" is a better term.

What bugged me about Darrell was that he was Diamond Darrell for years...even on CFH he was "Diamond" then he changed it to Dimebag...and that just bugs me. I dont get cashing in on the whole hip pot smoking bullcrap...Darrell wasnt a "dimebag"....he was more a diamond than anything. His guitar playing showed it.

With that said....Im not a Pantera fan.

Having known Darrell from the early days, I can say he was one hell of a musician & a hell of a good person, period.

na he was always dimebag darrel. they changed it to darrel on cfh as they fought dimebag would offend people. of course it got chenged back when they realised no one cared.

but if course no one knows what dimebag means in europe

I was always a big fan of his since 1990.

mc666 wrote:

overrated is not a good term here. i would say over hyped. everyone knew he was a gifted guitarist, but you didn't hear him cheered as a "legend" until he was murdered. probably because of the way he was murdered. sadly, as popular as Pantera was as a whole, his death made him a sensation moreso than his music ever did. indeed, that is where it's wrong.

I disagree. I will say that "legend" is probably not the best choice of word, because most people get that status when they're dead or retired. So we won't say "legend," but he was clearly destined to be a legend whether he was murdered or died in his sleep at the age of 95. And that distinction was clear before his death.

Media coverage of someone's death will always sensationalize that person/event, but Pantera's musical stamp was enough. Dimebag was most definitely not a pop riff writer. If you're not a fan of Pantera then there's really no point in discussing it, unless you're willing to acknowledge simple facts. He was a phenomenal musician.

This is similar to the Kurt Cobain argument.

TheGooch wrote:

na he was always dimebag darrel. they changed it to darrel on cfh as they fought dimebag would offend people. of course it got chenged back when they realised no one cared.

but if course no one knows what dimebag means in europe

No. He was known as "Diamond" Darrell up until Far Beyond Driven. Darrell mentioned once that the "Dimebag" thing wasn't really his doing, everyone called him "Dime" for short, and then it morphed into "Dimebag." Everyone called him that, so he embraced it. He did smoke weed, so it's not a stretch. Haha.

Eyesore wrote:

If you're not a fan of Pantera then there's really no point in discussing it

well, no point in discussing it with a Pantera fan anyway. they have a one track mind.

Eyesore wrote:

He was a phenomenal musician.

no one here disputed that fact.

mc666 wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

If you're not a fan of Pantera then there's really no point in discussing it

well, no point in discussing it with a Pantera fan anyway. they have a one track mind.

Eyesore wrote:

He was a phenomenal musician.

no one here disputed that fact.[/quote]
Well, someone did say he wrote pop riffs.

pop riffs?

mc666 wrote:

overrated is not a good term here. i would say over hyped. everyone knew he was a gifted guitarist, but you didn't hear him cheered as a "legend" until he was murdered. probably because of the way he was murdered. sadly, as popular as Pantera was as a whole, his death made him a sensation moreso than his music ever did. indeed, that is where it's wrong.

I think you're on the right track there. No matter what people's opinion might be about the band, I think that for the most part, Dimebag was a pretty well-liked fellow and a good guy personality-wise. And he wasn't afraid to be labeled "metal" in the early/mid 90's when that was considdered a four letter word. The fact that he died in such a horrific and tragic manner by a so-called fan makes people look at him differently and put him up on some sort of pedestal.

Eyesore wrote:

mc666 wrote:

overrated is not a good term here. i would say over hyped. everyone knew he was a gifted guitarist, but you didn't hear him cheered as a "legend" until he was murdered. probably because of the way he was murdered. sadly, as popular as Pantera was as a whole, his death made him a sensation moreso than his music ever did. indeed, that is where it's wrong.

I disagree. I will say that "legend" is probably not the best choice of word, because most people get that status when they're dead or retired. So we won't say "legend," but he was clearly destined to be a legend whether he was murdered or died in his sleep at the age of 95. And that distinction was clear before his death.

Media coverage of someone's death will always sensationalize that person/event, but Pantera's musical stamp was enough. Dimebag was most definitely not a pop riff writer. If you're not a fan of Pantera then there's really no point in discussing it, unless you're willing to acknowledge simple facts. He was a phenomenal musician.

This is similar to the Kurt Cobain argument.

I disagree with you on this. A couple more Damageplan albums, and the world would have forgotten him.......

Well they say opinions are like arseholes "everyone's got one", well mine is I care not for Dime, disliked him while he was living and care not that he's passed. I don't know what it was like accross the world but over here you had idiots running around sulking as if he was the best thing on earth since the sliced bread was invented.

Yes he may have been talented but so was Criss Oliva / Ty Longley etc.... but over here in Ireland you get "Dimebag" tribute nights ! WTF. I don't see tributes to David Wayne or Cozy Powell been orgainised why ? because Dimebag was more commerical, a product of MTV (at least on this side of the water) most of so called "Metalheads" over here may never have heard of any of them 4 people who I have mentioned, I bet some on this board may even wonder to one or two them may be ? well be truthful.

The way Dimebag died made hime what he is today, you think about it, do you think if Ozzy had of died 15 years ago then people would be making him Immortal now ? course they would have, now alot of people see him as a bumbling fool (Osbourne's TV show) and a washed up metaller who makes TV adds for Butter.

Pre-mature death can make legends out of the most mundane musicians.

Quote :

overrated is not a good term here. i would say over hyped. everyone knew he was a gifted guitarist, but you didn't hear him cheered as a "legend" until he was murdered. probably because of the way he was murdered. sadly, as popular as Pantera was as a whole, his death made him a sensation moreso than his music ever did. indeed, that is where it's wrong.

I fully agree with you MC!

zombiewalkin wrote:

pop riffs?

Yeah. Obviously not top 40 pop, but easily digested, simple yet memorable riffs. Pop (from the word popular) music is just that. Easily digestable, memorable and it makes your body move, with a minimal amount of brain engagement.

People always get all freaked out when I say stuff like this. Metallica's Seek and Detroy and For Whom the Bell Tolls are IMO examples of more pop oriented Metallica songs. They are the ones that the masses embraced (as much as any of the masses embraced Metallica back in the day, which is somewhat).

ack

Dime was a great guy and fun as hell to hang out with! I guess all of the rest doesn't really matter now-TJ

AchrisK wrote:

zombiewalkin wrote:

pop riffs?

Yeah. Obviously not top 40 pop, but easily digested, simple yet memorable riffs. Pop (from the word popular) music is just that. Easily digestable, memorable and it makes your body move, with a minimal amount of brain engagement.

People always get all freaked out when I say stuff like this. Metallica's Seek and Detroy and For Whom the Bell Tolls are IMO examples of more pop oriented Metallica songs. They are the ones that the masses embraced (as much as any of the masses embraced Metallica back in the day, which is somewhat).

ack

Whilst I get what you mean, I think the term 'accesible' is more valid than 'pop', just because of pop's connotations.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Pre-mature death can make legends out of the most mundane musicians.

So true. I fully believe that had there been a few more Damageplan releases, Dime would have been slowly forgotten-as mc666 stated (and that goes double for Cobain).Keep in mind,this has nothing to do with talent,just people's perception of individual's who died too young (Marilyn Monroe probably would fall into that category as well)